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Can Colorado make CFP? How Iowa State, Kansas State losses open door for Buffaloes

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1 year ago

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Can Colorado make CFP? How Iowa State, Kansas State losses open door for Buffaloes


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Colorado football may have been idle this week, but Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes picked up two big wins for their postseason playoff picture.

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With Texas Tech and Houston pulling off upsets against No. 10 Iowa State and No. 15 Kansas State, respectively, there is a legit path for Colorado to make not only the Big 12 championship game, but also the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The losses for the Cyclones and Wildcats move Colorado into a tie for second place at 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference with ISU.

The Buffaloes, who became ranked in the AP Top 25 poll last week, are currently in the midst of their best season since 2019 when they finished with five wins. Last week, Colorado became bowl-eligible for the first time under Sanders.

Here’s the path that is now presented for Colorado to make the College Football Playoff as Iowa State and Kansas State both lost in Week 10:

REQUIRED EADING: Travis Hunter discusses two-way play, Heisman Trophy chances on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’

Can Colorado make College Football Playoff?

Yes. Barring any drastic falloff for the Buffaloes in their final four games, Colorado has a path to make the College Football Playoff — likely through the Big 12 championship game.

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A big reason for Sanders’ squad playing in the CFP has to do with the expansion of the field from four teams to 12 teams this year. The expansion also comes with an automatic bid and first-round bye for the four highest-ranked conference champions, which almost certainly will include the Big 12 Conference.

But for the Buffaloes to make the playoff, they would not only have to win out in the regular season, but also, most likely, need to win the Big 12 championship. ESPN’s Football Power Index had Colorado with an 8.8% chance of winning the Big 12 entering Saturday.

Looking at Colorado’s remaining schedule — which includes contests against Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State — winning out the regular season seems like a reasonable feat. Of the four teams that the Buffaloes will face to end the season, three of them are at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

Additionally, if Colorado wins out, the Buffaloes’ odds of finishing as a top-two team in the conference can be also helped from the outside. If Iowa State loses to Kansas State during Rivalry Week on Nov. 30, Colorado would be in the Big 12 championship game.

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ESPN Analytics currently has Colorado winning each of its final four games, which would mark the first time the Buffaloes would finish the regular season with 10 wins since 2016. But if this season of college football has shown anything, you can’t rely on win-loss probability analytics.

All told, get the popcorn ready for a potential fun playoff push over the next four weeks for Colorado and Coach Prime.

Big 12 football tiebreakers

The Big 12 announced in September that if two teams are tied in the conference standings, the following tiebreakers will be used until a determination is made on who makes the Big 12 championship game:

  • A — The tied teams will be compared based on their head-to-head record during the season.
  • B — The tied teams will be compared based on win percentage against all common conference opponents.
  • C — The tied teams will be compared based on win percentage against the next highest-placed common opponent in the standings (based on the record in all games played within the Conference) proceeding through the standings.
  • D — The tied teams will be compared based on combined win percentage in conference games of conference opponents.
  • E — The tied teams will be compared based on total number of wins in a 12-game season.
  • F — The representative will be chosen based on highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team rating score metric) following the last weekend of regular-season games.
  • G — The representative will be chosen by a coin toss.

Big 12 football standings

Here’s a look at the Big 12 football standings as of Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. MT:

Records listed indicate Big 12 play

  • 1. BYU: 5-1
  • T-2. Iowa State: 4-1
  • T-2. Colorado: 4-1
  • T-4. Kansas State: 4-2
  • T-4. Texas Tech: 4-2
  • T-6. Arizona State: 3-2
  • T-6. Cincinnati: 3-2
  • T-6. TCU: 3-2
  • T-6. West Virginia: 3-2
  • T-10: Houston: 3-3
  • 11. Baylor: 2-3
  • 12. UCF: 2-4
  • T-13. Utah: 1-4
  • T-13. Kansas: 1-4
  • 15. Arizona: 1-5
  • 16. Oklahoma State: 0-6

Colorado football schedule 2024

Here’s a look at Colorado’s football schedule in 2024:

  • Thursday, Aug. 29: vs. North Dakota State (W, 31-26)
  • Saturday, Sept. 7: at Nebraska (L, 28-10)
  • Saturday, Sept. 14: at Colorado State (W, 28-9)
  • Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Baylor* (W, 38-31, OT)
  • Saturday, Sept. 28: at UCF* (W, 48-21)
  • Saturday, Oct. 5: BYE
  • Saturday, Oct. 12: vs. No. 20 Kansas State* (L, 31-28)
  • Saturday, Oct. 19: at Arizona* (W, 34-7)
  • Saturday, Oct. 26: vs. Cincinnati* (W, 34-23)
  • Saturday, Nov. 2: BYE
  • Saturday, Nov. 9: at Texas Tech*
  • Saturday, Nov. 16: vs. Utah*
  • Saturday, Nov. 23: at Kansas*
  • Friday, Nov. 29: vs. Oklahoma State*

* Denotes Big 12 game



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Colorado

Colorado Parks and Wildlife launches potential hunting opportunity for wild bison

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10 hours ago

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January 3, 2026

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife launches potential hunting opportunity for wild bison


Colorado Parks and Wildlife is creating a roster where individuals can sign up for a bison hunting license. 

Interested hunters can apply to be added to the list, which will only be used if management action — such as preventing property of agricultural damage — is required for wild bison that enter Colorado. The state is not creating a regular hunting season for bison. 

Colorado is not home to any herds of wild bison after the species was systematically killed across the West in the 1800s. 

However, a new bill signed into law in May allowed the species to be dual-classified as livestock or wildlife. The bill’s primary goal was to protect wild bison from Utah’s Book Cliffs herds that wander into Colorado near Rangely. Prior to the law being enacted, these animals lost any protections when they entered Colorado and were typically killed. 

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Parks and Wildlife estimates that the mismatch in protections has led to a dozen wild bison being killed in Colorado after leaving Utah in the last decade. It estimates that 25 have been killed in the past 20 years. 

Now, free-roaming wild bison are managed by Parks and Wildlife as a big game species, meaning they cannot be killed without a proper license or permission. Privately-owned bison will continue to be managed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as livestock. 

In accordance with the new law, Parks and Wildlife launched a stakeholder process to create a bison management plan in October. The plan will set a bison management area and a population objective range to guide future decisions around wild bison in the area just northwest of Grand Junction, where the animals have previously entered Colorado. In the fall, the wildlife agency’s commission also passed a few regulatory changes, including building a regulatory framework for the potential hunting of wild bison to protect against disease or property damage and that covers compensation for property damages caused by the animals.  

In October, as wildlife advocates urged Parks and Wildlife not to allow hunting of bison, Brian Dreher, assistant director of the terrestrial branch at Parks and Wildlife, said the new regulatory framework merely provides the agency with management options. 

“We don’t have any intentions to hunt these animals in the near term, but we also need some flexibility to deal with any issues that arise,” Dreher said.

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With the creation of the “bison roster,” which Parks and Wildlife announced on Jan. 1, hunters will be randomly selected in the event the agency needs to kill a wild bison that is causing issues. The agency reported these special licenses will be issued on a “case-by-case basis for time-sensitive management needs.” Once a hunters’ name is selected, the hunter will be granted a one-week license to kill a bison.

The application to sign up for the roster is available from Jan. 1 to 31 on the Parks and Wildlife website. If a drawing is conducted, successful applicants will be notified by phone and email. Hunters will have 24 hours to respond and accept the license.





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Colorado

Fatal crash in Aurora causes closure on S. Gun Club Road

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6 days ago

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December 29, 2025

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Fatal crash in Aurora causes closure on S. Gun Club Road



/ CBS Colorado

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Police in Aurora are asking drivers to avoid the area near a serious crash that happened early Sunday evening.

According to the Aurora Police Department, the crash occurred after 5 p.m. on S. Gun Club Road between E. Jewell Avenue and E. Hampden Ave. Authorities said that four vehicles were involved, and at least one person has died.

Officers have closed down the area near the intersections while crews work the scene. The crash is under investigation, and authorities asked drivers to avoid the area until further notice.

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Northern Colorado stuns CU Buffs men’s basketball

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6 days ago

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December 28, 2025

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Northern Colorado stuns CU Buffs men’s basketball


Colorado’s Bangot Dak, right, shoots against a Northern Colorado defender on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, at the CU Events Center. (CU Athletics)

The Colorado men’s basketball team won’t be cruising into Big 12 Conference play behind a wave of momentum.

Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Buffaloes will begin play in one of the nation’s most challenging leagues on the heels of one of the most embarrassing home defeats in recent memory.

CU (10-3) turned in another listless defensive performance and the Bears took advantage, handing CU an 86-81 defeat Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center.

It was UNC’s first win against Colorado since Feb. 18, 1936.

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UNC shot .739 in the second half (17-for-23) and finished the game 11-for-21 on 3-pointers.

UNC’s Quinn Denker returned from a two-game injury absence to score 33 points against the Buffs. Freshman Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with a season-high 25 points.

This story will be updated.

Northern Colorado 86, Colorado 81

NORTHERN COLORADO (10-3)

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Nyeri 2-4 0-0 5, Wisne 6-15 0-0 13, Yamazaki 5-8 5-5 19, Bloch 3-6 0-0 8, Denker 12-18 6-6 33, Shields 3-6 2-6 8, Delano 0-2 0-0 0, Mawien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 13-17 86.

COLORADO (10-3)

Dak 6-14 2-2 16, Rancik 4-13 4-4 14, Malone 2-5 2-2 6, Hargress 8-15 1-1 18, Kossaras 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 9-20 5-6 25, Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Holland 0-4 0-0 0, Ifaola 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 14-15 81.

Halftime: Northern Colorado 37-35; 3-Point Goals: Northern Colorado 11-21 (Yamazaki 4-6, Denker 3-5, Bloch 2-4, Nyeri 1-2, Wisne 1-3, Delano 0-1), Colorado 7-23 (Dak 2-4, Johnson 2-6, Rancik 2-6, Hargress 1-3, Holland 0-1, Kossaras 0-1, Sanders 0-2); Rebounds: Northern Colorado 39 (Denker 8), Colorado 37 (Johnson 8); Assists: Northern Colorado 17 (Denker 8), Colorado 11 (Hargress 5); Total Fouls: Northern Colorado 12, Colorado 14.

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